Chapter 57: The Empty Self Elder

  As soon as Sun Ming stepped into the Qianji Pavilion, he felt a chill on his back. He turned around to see Mu Rongyun's furious face staring at him with an intense gaze, as if she wanted to devour him whole. Despite his calm nature, Sun Ming couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine under her glare. Fortunately, being Cloud Middle Son's disciple, he managed to maintain his composure and smiled back at her before walking over to sit beside Ling Xing and Ling Yu.

  "You're actually smiling at me? Don't let me find out you're a disciple of that sect. Otherwise, you'll be in trouble." What was originally a very kind smile turned into ridicule in Mu Rong Yun Luan's eyes.

  The Qianji Pavilion is a place where some of the elders of the Holy Alliance give lectures. Although it is also called a pavilion, just like the Xuanshen Pavilion, the Qianji Pavilion is much larger than the Xuanshen Pavilion. So many young and talented cultivators sat on a white expanse, in groups of three or five, but they seemed sparse. However, everyone knew that this first stage, known as the basic knowledge test, was just a formality. After all, those who could come here were all two-star or higher refiners, and basic knowledge was still an obstacle for beginners, but for these genuine refiners who had already obtained their Refiner's Spirit Cards, it seemed rather childish.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Kong Wu, the elder of the Holy Alliance, who will be hosting this trial. Later on, someone will guide you to take the exam, and I will personally test you. Hehe, all of you future masters of alchemy, don't disappoint me." An old man named Kong Wu said loudly.

  Suddenly, a burst of cheers and applause erupted from below. Sun Ming, however, was unimpressed, muttering under his breath: "What's the big deal about being an elder? You think you can test me? Just because your cultivation is deep doesn't mean you're better than me at refining equipment."

  "Haha, Lingming, you're killing me! You actually said that Old Man Kongwu is inferior to you in terms of equipment refinement?" Lingxing on the side looked like she had heard a joke from heaven and was staring at Sun Ming in disbelief.

  "What's wrong? Is this Kong Wu very powerful?" Sun Ming asked in puzzlement.

  "Haha, it's not just awesome, Lingming tell the truth, you've been in the sect for so many years, except for the Yu Jian Tong of the alchemy aspect, haven't you seen anything else?" asked Lingyu on the side.

  "Huh? Another Jade Mirror Pupil? Is there another Jade Mirror Pupil? I didn't see any other Jade Mirror Pupils in the sect's library." Sun Ming said, puzzled.

  "Haha, you're really ignorant, aren't you? Our sect has not only a library of scriptures on alchemy, but also another one that records the strange and unusual events of the Cultivation World. It's said that before our sect was sealed off from the world, every disciple who was about to go down the mountain for training had to read these 'Jade Mirror Records'. Before I left this time, Ling Xing and I specially went to this special library to take a look. Although it hasn't been updated in a long time, many of the things recorded inside are truly breathtaking."

  "But what does this have to do with Elder Kongwu?" Sun Ming still looked puzzled.

  "We were there at the Jade Mirror Pupil, and in a Jade Mirror Pupil that introduced the alchemists of the Cultivation Realm, we saw the name of this Kong Wu Elder. According to the records above, this Kong Wu Elder was one of the Five Dispersed Immortals, his former sect had long since disappeared into the river of time, but he was indeed a rare and precious alchemist, having once refined a middle-grade immortal artifact, which is extremely rare in the Cultivation Realm." said Ling Xing Dao.

  "You should know that in the Cultivation Realm, whether it's a Mahayana cultivator or an Immortal, the highest-grade artifact they can refine is only a low-grade immortal artifact. This is because even if a cultivator's cultivation is extremely high, the spiritual energy of the immortals they can summon will not be pure, so they can only refine low-grade immortal artifacts. This has always been common knowledge among the major sects and schools of artifact refinement. However, this Empty Self Elder refined a mid-grade immortal artifact, which had a huge impact on the artifact refinement world at that time. Even our sect's elder who recorded this event in the Jade Mirror Pupil left behind these words: 'This child's natural talent is extremely high, rarely seen in the world. Alas, alas, why couldn't he enter our sect?'". Ling Yu said as she gazed at Empty Self Elder with a look of admiration.

  "Hmm, indeed not bad, this old man is really not bad." Sun Ming said with his mouth, but in fact, he had already stirred up a stormy wave in his heart. After all, a thousand years ago, the five-chaos scattered immortal was still standing here, it can be seen that this old house has become a six-chaos scattered immortal. A thousand years ago, an old guy who could refine middle-grade immortal artifacts, to say that he had not made any progress in these thousand years, no one would believe it.

  "Tomorrow, you don't have to worry so much, it's just a loose immortal. As long as you don't pass through the twelve tribulations of a loose immortal, you can't say that you're an immortal with a promising future. However, I find it interesting that you, with your loose immortal body, are refining a mid-grade immortal artifact." Yun Zhongzi said with a smile.

  "Master, you are really powerful. Is someone like that just interesting to you?" Sun Ming said with some depression.

  "What's so special about it? It's just a mid-grade immortal artifact. If you picked this up in the Jade Void Palace, even your master would think it's a waste of time. Remember, your goal is to refine those spiritual treasures, not these so-called immortal artifacts." Yun Zhongzi said.

  "Yes, the master's teachings are understood by the disciple." As soon as Sun Ming finished speaking, the respectful gaze he had just looked at Kong Wu Lao Dao with disappeared, and his eyes became dull and ordinary, looking at Kong Wu Lao Dao as if he were a stone on the side of the road.

  "Haha, this kid is interesting. After saying such impolite words, he actually dares to look at me like that. I'll make things a bit difficult for you later." Kong Wu said with a smile.

  "Tomorrow, that old Taoist will notice you." Yun Zhongzi said.

  "What? I didn't do anything to him, why is he paying attention to me?" Sun Ming asked in puzzlement.

  "What did you do to him? Who just said that this old man is not as good as you? Do you think he didn't hear it? Tomorrow, you're still so naive, with such a small distance, with his cultivation, even if there's only a louse on your body, he'll know everything clearly." Yun Zhongzi smiled and said.

  "What's a louse? What is a louse, Master?" Sun Ming asked in confusion, not taking the old Daoist seriously. This made Yun Zhongzi very annoyed. He thought to himself: "This old Daoist has lived for so long and must be good at holding grudges. When he makes things difficult later, I'll know the consequences." Lice? What are lice? He's actually asking me, a member of the Jade Void Sect with the title of Quanzhen, this question.

  "Hmm, Lice is a lovely spiritual beast, but your current cultivation is quite low and you're not yet qualified to tame it, let's talk about it when you ascend to the next level."

  "Cute spirit beast? Haha, I'll definitely raise one in the future." Sun Ming thought to himself with a pleasant feeling, while Yun Zhongzi's mind conjured up such an image.

  His lovely apprentice Sun Ming rode on a louse as small as a calf, jumping high and sucking blood everywhere.

  "Alright, alright, you're going to start testing now, stop daydreaming." Yun Zhongzi reminded.

  "I know, Master. Am I not always ready?" Sun Ming said.

  "Hmm, I think this time's exam won't be so easy."

  Before Sun Ming could respond, a white-robed Taoist walked over and said

  "Please follow me, you are the first sect to participate in the trial." The white-robed cultivator said nothing more and turned around to walk away. Sun Ming and the other two exchanged a smile and followed him.

  "What's so great about that? It's just a higher cultivation level and wearing white clothes! What's the big deal, huh?" Sun Ming was actually quite angry, silently cursing the white-robed cultivist walking in front of him.

  "Tomorrow, what will you be cursing? A loose immortal serving you little birds, not throwing you directly inside is already quite magnanimous." Yun Zhongzi said.

  "Hmph, forget it, I won't bother with him either." Sun Ming comforted himself.

  "You think you can take him on? With your current Golden Core cultivation, he could kill you with just a small finger." Yun Zhongzi sighed, his face covered in black lines.

  Sun Ming just hummed and didn't respond again. He followed the white-robed Taoist into a door. Meanwhile, Murong Yunfan in the hall ran to the middle of several staff members who were standing still, and asked anxiously.

  "Everyone, who are those three people who just went in? Why do we have to line up and draw lots, while they can directly take the exam?" Murong Yunrui didn't ask Sun Ming's sect directly, but instead asked indirectly using the topic of drawing lots. It seems that this girl is still a bit clever.

  "Are you referring to the three of them? They are disciples of the Qilingshu Sect, and since they were once the number one artifact refinement sect in the world, they don't need to draw lots to participate directly in the trial. This is also a sign of respect for them. Although the Qilingshu Sect is now somewhat younger and uneven, they even sent a Golden Dan stage disciple to participate in the competition. However, out of respect for their sect, they weren't made to participate in the lottery." A white-robed cultivator explained disdainfully.

  "Alas, it's really unwilling to see the decline of Qiling Sect. Thinking back to those years, Qiling Sect was so prosperous and admired by all the sects in the world. If not for Qiling Sect's support behind the scenes during the Great War between Dao and Mo, it would be hard to imagine that Xianjing Realm could have achieved its current peace. Unfortunately, the later generations did not live up to expectations and can only rely on the remaining prestige of their predecessors to maintain the sect's glory." Another white-robed cultivator chimed in with a sigh.

  "Ah, yes, our Mechanism Repair Union may not have the protection of our predecessors, but we know how to keep up with the times and develop. This Qi Ling Zong is stuck in Yun Yuan Xing and won't come out. I really don't know what they're thinking. In that case, I'll go draw lots." Murong Yunfan chatted with the two cultivators for a while, then bowed as a junior and left.

  "Qī Líng Zōng? Hē hē, zhēn de bù shì yuān jiā bù jù tóu a, xiǎo zǐ, jìng rán hái shì yī wèi liàn qì shī, hēng hēng, nǐmen Qī Líng Zōng zhēn de jiù méi rén le ma? Jìng rán pài chū yī gè jīn dān qī de dì zǐ lái cān jiā bǐ sài, hēng, dào shí hòu jiù xiū wàng wǒ wú qíng le." Mù Róng Yún Luán kàn zhe Sūn Míng sān rén gāng gāng zǒu jìn qù de nà shàn mén ě huǒ huǒ de shuō.

  Don't worry about collecting this book, it has been signed and will definitely be completed.

  The Sword Song's first draft has many flaws, I hope everyone will go to the book review section and leave comments with suggestions.